Sarah's Sanctuary Western Isles

Jane, our artist, asked us to make some ‘talking heads’ and attach messages to them which we feel are important. I donated some plastic buoys I had sitting in the front garden, which are roughly head size and fit with the nautical theme of ‘Slipping Through the Net’. After covering my buoy with tissue paper and painting it white, I felt that I wanted to do a very simple design and was drawn to the idea of a Lego face. I decided to paint it bright yellow and turn it into Batgirl, Batman’s sassy girlfriend who generally seems a bit wiser and less clueless than him. Why Batgirl?, Jane asked. I had to think about that. Perhaps I wanted a Lego character because I enjoyed watching the first Lego movie with my kids when they were younger. I didn’t expect to like it, but I appreciated the unexpected message that maybe there aren’t always clear cut sides. Perhaps the person we regard as our enemy has their own reasons for doing what they do. Maybe, once we begin to understand them, it will ...

By Sheena Crichton Mckenzie   Our last workshop ahead of the exhibition was a flurry of busyness, conversation and questioning. There was the last- minute completion of art pieces, the start of new, the preparation of a brochure to give exhibition attendees the necessary background and the teasing out of arguments (friendly) with husband around worth and suitability of poetry. We also did a lot of soul searching around whether the exhibition matched the initial brief and whether we were hard hitting enough with our message. Jane mentioned the previous week that I still ought to do a tea towel and as I walked along the shore with my dog, Nellie, that morning I thought about how I could print the tea towel in such a way that a message about my son’s life could come through.  I decided on printing fish going along in one direction and there was to be one fish that was different and going against the tide. Of course, that was Hugh. He was always a little different. I liked that....

by Sheena Crichton McKenzie  As I began printing, I really didn’t know where I was going or what I’d like the end result to be. Printing was simplistic, so very different to my son’s life which had presented so many difficulties. But I wanted to depict his life in all its intricacies, flaws and beauty and my picture wasn’t cutting it. I thought about his poem ‘Turbulent Waves’, written at the tender age of 11 when he should have been carefree, happy and excited about all life had to offer. Instead, my son struggled; trying to take control of his confused thoughts. Life for Hugh was very much a mix of pushing, stopping, escaping and hiding. Under the theme’ Slipping Through the Net’, I imagined how Hugh might have felt, often trying desperately to reach out and fit in, and family, education and health professionals trying in their own way to reach him ... but not quite getting him. I remember holding my darling boy, thin through lack of food, a disordered eating pattern developed as...